Potsdam Tolerance Festival: Minister urges openness amid rising extremism

Brandenburg's Culture Minister Manja Schüle officially opened the Potsdam Tolerance Festival, using the occasion to urge citizens to actively resist extremism. She noted the increasing pressure on open societies, marked by rising exclusion, extremist ideologies, and racist attacks.

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We are experiencing how the pressure on our open society is growing. That exclusion, extremist attitudes, and racist attacks are increasing.

"But there is also another reality, thankfully: the many people who get involved. Who stand up when necessary. Who show conviction and solidarity," Schüle stated, according to a press release. The festival, themed "Tolerance Moves Potsdam," took place in the Babelsberg district.

Potsdam's Mayor Noosha Aubel also encouraged participation via Instagram, expressing her enthusiasm for everyone who demonstrates their commitment to tolerance, democracy, and an inclusive city.

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But there is also another reality, thankfully: the many people who get involved. Who stand up when necessary. Who show conviction and solidarity.

This marks the fifth year the festival has been organized by a coalition including the Neues Potsdamer Toleranzedikt association, the football club SV Babelsberg 03, Oberlinhaus, and medical technology manufacturer Christoph Miethke. The event features sports, games, music, and cultural activities. The festival's name and spirit are rooted in the "Edict of Potsdam," issued in 1685 by the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg. This historical edict facilitated the immigration of Protestant Huguenots, who faced religious persecution in France, to Brandenburg, aiding in the region's reconstruction after the Thirty Years' War. A modern "New Potsdam Tolerance Edict" was established in 2008 as a declaration of commitment to global openness and tolerance.

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I am delighted by everyone who shows their face, for tolerance, for democracy, for a city for all.